Signature handling apparatus



Jan. 31, 1961 H. w. FAEBER 2,969,981

SIGNATURE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 13, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. HARRY W. FAEBER his ATTORNEYS.

1961 H. w. FAEBER 2,969,981

SIGNATURE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 15, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HARRY W. FAEBER his A TTORNEYS.

nitedfitates SIGNATURE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 13, 1958, Ser. No. 741,786

8 Claims. (Cl. 271-82) This invention relates to a high speed apparatus for receiving and transporting folded signatures and introducing the folded edges of the signatures between a pair of signature advancing means.

In the handling of folded signatures, and more particularly in the handling of groups of signatures bound in book form, it has been customary to use a vertically reciprocating blade to introduce folded signatures between a pair of signature receiving and advancing elements, such as rotating feed rolls or moving conveyor belts. in these prior mechanisms, the folded signatures are delivered edgewise and in straddling fashion onto the blade while it is in its lower position. The blade oscillates in a plane which is substantially coincident with the bite between the pair of signature receiving and advancing elements. Accordingly, during its upward travel, the blade lifts the folded signature and tucks the folded edge thereof between the signature receiving elements which thereupon advance the signature upwardly, removing the signature from the blade. The blade then moves downwardly to receive the next folded signature delivered thereto.

In conventional mechanisms of this type, it is apparent that the blade is subject to constant acceleration and deceleration during its oscillatory motion. This constant acceleration or deceleration presents a serious problem when it is desired to step up production by appreciably increasing the rate of oscillation of the blade. By way of illustration, at very high rates of oscillation of the blade, the blade strikes the signature while traveling at a relatively high velocity. The resulting impact of the blade against the signature may cause damage to the signature, but of even more serious concern, it may prevent the signature from properly settling on the blade or it may deflect the signature so as to prevent the blade from properly introducing the folded edge of the signature to the bite between the signature receiving and advancing elements.

The object of the present invention is to provide a high speed apparatus which is capable of receiving and transporting folded signatures to a signature receiving and advancing means in such fashion that the folded edges of the signatures are properly introduced and tucked between a pair of cooperating elements thereof.

T his object is achieved in the present invention by an apparatus embodying a signature transporting member supported at one end from a movable carrier which translates the signature supporting member in a closed orbital path. The end of the signature transporting member is freely disposed so that signatures may be fed endwise onto the signature transporting member to be carried thereby in straddling fashion to signature receiving and advancing means adjacent the orbital path in which the signature transporting member is translated. When the signature transporting member approaches the signature receiving and advancing means, the appropriate movement is imparted to the signature transporting member which enables it to introduce and tuck the folded edge of the signature between cooperating elements of the signature receiving and advancing means. In this manher, the folded signature is received from the signature transporting member while the latter is moving in its orbital path.

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference may be made to the detailed description which follows and to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the signature handling apparatus of the present invention;

Figures 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views taken along the lines 22 and 3-3, respectively, of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the signature transporting member;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view of a cam track which controls the angular position of the signature transporting member; and

Figure 6 is a schematic side elevational view of the apparatus, illustrating a signature transporting member in a series of successive positions in delivering a signature to the signature receiving and advancing means.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to Figure l, a plurality of signature transporting members 10 are supported from one face of a carrier 11. The carrier member 11, in the form illustrated in the drawings, is

a circular disc which is supported for rotation on a shaft 12. The shaft 12, in turn, is rotatably mounted in bearings (not shown) accommodated in a vertically disposed frame 13. If necessary, suitable bearings may be provided for the rotatable shaft 12 on the opposite side of the carrier disc 11.

The signature transporting members 10 are preferably relatively flat blades, each affixed at one end to an arm 15 which is supported on a shaft 16. The supporting shafts 16 are accommodated in suitable bearings in the carrier disc 11, and these shafts 16 are equally spaced apart and arranged in circular array around the outer perimeter of the carrier disc.

Each of the supporting shafts 16 carries a bellcrank lever 17 afiixed thereto adjacent the opposite side of the carrier disc 11 from the blade 10. Both arms of the bellcrank lever 17 carry a cam follower, the respective cam followers being designated by the reference numerals 1S and 19, and through these cam followers a controlled motion is imparted to the respective signature transporting blade 10 while his carried in an orbital path by the carrier disc 11.

The cam follower rollers 18 and 19 are engageable with separate cam tracks during portions of the travel of the signature transporting blade 10 in its orbital path. It may be noted in passing that the cam follower rollers 18 and 19 are disposed in different planes, so that the respective cam tracks with which they are engageable are also disposed in different planes.

During the translation of the signature transporting blades 10 in an orbital path, controlled pivotal motion is imparted to each of the signature transporting blades by two sets of cam tracks. For a major portion of the orbit, the angular disposition of the signature transporting blade ill is determined by the travel of the cam follower 18 in a cam track defined between inner and outer rails 20 and 21, respectively. Similarly, for a minor portion of the orbit, the angular disposition of the signature transporting blade 10 is determined by the travel of the cam follower 19 within a cam track defined between inner and outer rails 22 and 23, respectively.

The paired cam rails 20 and 21 are supported by a plurality of brackets 24, and the paired cam rails 22 and 23 are supported by a plurality of brackets 25. These brackets 24 and 25 are afiixed by screws or bolts 26 to the side of the supporting frame 13 which faces the carrier disc 11. The outer faces of the brackets 24, 25 are provided with upper and lower laterally projecting extensions 27 and 28 to which the inner and outer cam tracks are secured by screws 29. These upper and lower laterally projecting extensions define a groove 30 there between which provides the necessary clearance for the cam follower.

The brackets 24 which support the inner and outer rails 29 and 21 are identical in all respects to the brackets 25 which support the inner and outer rails 22 and 23, with the sole exception that the thickness of the brackets is greater than the thickness of the brackets 24, so that the paired rails 20 and 21 will be mounted in a plane which is, laterally offset from the paired rails 22 and 23.

As viewed in Figure l, the signature transporting blades are carried in a circular, orbital path by the rotation of the carrier disc 11 in a counterclockwise direction. Shortly after the delivery of a folded signature to one of the blades by the guide rails A, the cam follower 18 enters between the leading ends Zila and 21a, respectively, of the paired rails 20 and 21. As the carrier disc 11 continues its rotation and approaches the signature receiving and advancing means, generally designated by the reference symbol B in Figure 1, the cam track defined between the rails 20 and 21 pivots the blade it} gradually from a substantially vertical plane to a substantially horizontal plane, introducing the folded edge of the signature into the bite between a pair of rollers 42 and 43 which remove the signature from the blade and advance it toward the right, as viewed in Figure 1. immediately beyond the signature receiving and advancing means B, the blade 10 is restored to a vertical plane but in inverted relationship to its disposition at the time the signature was fed initially to the blade. During the next 180 degrees of rotation of the carrier disc 11, or, in other words, for the remainder of the travel of the cam follower 18 within the cam track defined between the inner and outer rails 20 and 21, the blade 11 is translated by the carrier disc in an orbital path, restoring the blade to its initial upright position in preparation for receiving another folded signature thereon.

in order to maintain the blade 10 in upright position while at the same time facilitating the overcenter movement of bellerank lever arm supporting the cam follower 13 in the transition between the downward travel of the cam follower and the upward travel thereof, the position control of the blade 10 is shifted from the cam follower 1% to the cam follower 19. This is accomplished by providing the leading ends 22a and 23a of the paired rails 22 and 23 in position to receive the cam follower 19 while the blade 10 is still traveling downwardly and the cam follower 18 is still engaged with the inner rail 2 The trailing end'of the rail 20 extends somewhat beyond the rail 21 for this purpose. 'The cam track defined between the paired rails Hand 23 maintain the respective blade 1% in substantially upright vertical position until after a signature is fed to the blade and the blade begins its upward travel. There-upon, as explained above, the cam follower 18 is once again introduced into the cam track defined between the paired rails 20 and 21, and this occurs before the cam follower 19 has left the cam track defined between the paired rails 22 and 23.

To facilitate the rotation of the supporting shaft 16 for the blade relative to the carrier disc 11, the extreme trailing end of the outer rail 23 is extended beyond the inner rail 22. This trailin end curves gently upwardly, such that the distance between the axis of the shaft 12 and the operative surface of the rail 23 gradually decreases. The effect of this extension of the rail 23 is to urge the cam follower 18 toward the outer rail 21 and thereby reduce the friction between the cam follower 13 and the inner rail M1, at least until the angle between the bellcrank lever arm which supports the cam follower 13 and the operative surface of the inner rail 20 is Sllfl'lciently small to minimize the frictional resistance offered by the rail 2t).

The rolls 42 and 43 are just adjacent and outside the orbital path of travel followed by the signature transporting blade 11}. As the blade, supporting a signature x in straddling fashion thereon, approaches the feed rolls :2 and 43, the blade 16 is pivoted into the line of travel followed by the signature as it is advanced between the rolls. This position is substantially radial to the carrier disc 11. This pivotal action represents a ninety degree angular displacement of the blade from the upright position of the blade at the point that it received the signature from the guide rails A. This pivotal movement of the blade presents the folded edge of the signature between the rolls. As the signature is removed from the blade and the blade continues its upward travel, the blade is still further pivoted to inverted position, thereby guiding it around the outer periphery of the roller 42 and facilitating the removal of the signature from the blade at high speed.

This pivotal action is imparted to the signature transporting blade 10 by the portion of the cam track defined between the paired rails 20 and 21 which is illustrated in Figure 5 of the drawings. Accordingly, a portion a of the inner edge of the track formed by the inner rail 2% curves outwardly to a point, and a portion b above the point curves inwardly. Similarly, the outer edge of the track formed by the outer rail 21 including a portion 0 which curves outwardly, running substantially parallel to the edge a, and a portion d which curves inwardly, running substantially parallel to the edge b. The portions c and d of the rail 21, as they approach each other, curve outwardly, forming between them a short portion of the cam track which extends virtually radially of the axis of the carrier disc 11. The outer rail 21, therefore, may be split between the edge portions 0 and d.

Since the cam follower 18 must reverse its direction in the portion of the cam track between the edge portions 0 and d, a pivotal gate or switch member 40 is provided to prevent the cam follower from following a downward course between the edge portions 0 and 0, instead of an upward course between the edge portions b and d. Both sides of the gate 40 are somewhat convexly curved so that in the up positon, as shown in broken lines in Figure 5, the under side forms a continuation of the edge a, and in the down position, as shown in solid lines in Figure 5, the upper side forms a continuation of the edge b. The gate is pivoted at 41, and it is normally spring urged to its downward position' As the cam follower travels upwardly, it encounters the gate 40, pivoting it to open position. As the cam follower moves between the edge portions c and d and passes beyond the free end of the gate 40, the gate automatically closes, so that during the return travel between the edge portions c and a, the cam follower moves upwardly between the edge portions b and d.

The signature handling apparatus described above serves to convey signatures in rapid succession to the station B and between the rotating rolls 42 and 43. The upper roll 42 serves as a guide pulley for a conveyor belt 44, the lower stretch of which serves to advance a signature in engagement therewith. Thus, the under side of the conveyor belt 44- cooperates with the feed roll 43 to receive the folded edges of signatures introduced therebetween by the blades 10 and to advance the signatures to the right, as viewed in Figure 1, across the upper surface of a pivotal gate or switch member 45 when the gate or switch member is in the position illustrated in solid lines in Figure 1; The signatures thus guided between the upper surface of the pivotal switch member 45 and the under side of the conveyor belt 44 are thereupon introduced' between the belt 44 andthe upper surface of a mun conveyor belt 46 which is guided around a rotating pulley 47.

The gate 45 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 48, and it is suitably controlled by well known means to be pivoted selectively to the position shown in broken lines in Figure 1 so that the curved edge e deflects signatures downwardly along the line indicated by the arrow 49.

The apparatus of the present invention is particularly applicable to, but by no means limited to, a system in which folded signatures are collated in book form on a moving conveyor, bound and the bound books fed in straddling fashion across the guide rails A onto one of the signature transporting blades 10. A plurality of the blades are carried in an orbital path by the rotating carrier disc 11, and the books are fed across the rails A in timed relatonship to the rotation of the carrier disc so that a book is fed to each of the blades carried thereby. As each of the blades 10 approaches the feed rolls 42 and 43, it is subjected to the motion depicted in Figure 6 of the drawings. That is to say, the blade is first pivoted from an upright position to a position on a line with the path of travel of the signature as it is advanced by and between the feed rolls 42 and 43. In this position, the blade introduces the folded edge of the signature between the rolls, or more specifically, between the surfaces of the conveyor belt 44 and the roll 43. The blade is then further pivotally rotated to a position substantially inverted from its initial position at the time the book was fed thereto. As the carrier disc continues to rotate, the blade is translated in the orbital path, so that as it again approaches the guide rails A it is restored to its upright position.

Since the gate or switch member 45 is normally in the position shown in solid lines in Figure 1, the books in troduced between the rolls 42 and 43 are advanced at a high velocity across the upper surface of the gate and then between the conveyor belts 44 and 46 to a point of delivery. In the event a book is improperly bound, that fact is recorded in a memory system, and as that book is introduced between the rolls 42 and 43, the gate 45 is pivoted to the position shown in broken lines in Figure 1, deflecting the books along the line indicated by the arrow 49 to a discard station.

The feed rolls 42 and 43 may be driven continuously at a relatively high speed compared to the speed of the carrier disc 11. The books are removed from the blades 10 and advanced to the right, as viewed in Figure l, at an increased velocity, so that successive books will be spaced apart rather than in overlapping relationship.

The invention has been shown in preferred form and by way of example only, and obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention, therefore, is not to be limited to any specified form or enibodiment, except in so far as such limitations are set forth in the claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for handling folded sheets comprising a sheet carrying blade for receiving a folded sheet in straddling fashion on the upper edge thereof, means supporting the sheet carrying blade for translation in an orbital path, means for feeding a sheet to the blade in straddling fashion, means adjacent the orbital path for receiving and removing the folded sheet from the sheet carrying blade angularly displaced from its upright position, means for maintaining the blade in upright position throughout substantially the entire transportation of the sheet from the point in the orbital path at which it is received until the sheet carrying blade approaches the sheet receiving means, and means for imparting angular displacement to the blade to tilt it from its upright position as it approaches the sheet receiving means to deliver the sheet to the sheet receiving means.

2. Apparatus for handling folded sheets as set forth in claim 1 in which the sheet receiving means includes a pair of feed rolls, the axes of which define a line which forms an angle to the plane of the blade in its upright position, and in which the angular displacement of the blade serves to tuck the folded edge of the sheet between the feed rolls.

3. Apparatus for handling folded sheets comprising a sheet carrying blade supported at one end and freely disposed at the other end, means for supporting the sheet carrying blade at one end and translating it in an orbital path while maintaining the upper edge of the blade horizontally disposed, means for feeding a folded sheet endwise onto the freely disposed end of the sheet carrying blade in straddling fashion on the upper edge of the blade, sheet receiving and advancing means adjacent the orbital path in which the sheet carrying blade is translated, said sheet receiving and advancing means being adapted to receive the folded sheet from the sheet carrying blade when the latter is tilted from a vertical position, and means for pivoting the sheet carrying blade about an axis below but parallel with the upper edge of the blade todisplace the blade from a vertical position to a tilted position, and at the same time moving and advancing the upper edge of blade toward the sheet receiving means to deliver the folded edge of the signature to the sheet receiving and advancing means.

4. Apparatus for handling folded sheets comprising a sheet carrying blade freely disposed at one end and oriented, in its sheet receiving position, to receive a folded sheet thereon in straddling fashion on the upper edge thereof, a movable support for carrying the blade with its upper edge horizontally disposed while translating it in an orbital path, and means for imparting angular displacement to the blade about a horizontal axis below but parallel with the upper edge of the blade.

5. A folded sheet handling apparatus comprising a sheet supporting blade, a driven carrier for supporting the blade at one end and translating it in an orbital path while maintaining the upper edge of the blade horizontally disposed, said sheet'supporting blade being free at its unsupported end, cam 'means for controlling the angular position of the blade while it is being carried in its orbital path, the cam means supporting the blade in upright position throughout part of its travel in orbital path, means for feeding a folded sheet in straddling fashion onto the freely disposed end of the blade while the blade is maintained in upright position, sheet receiving and advancing means adjacent the orbital path in which the sheet supporting blade is translated, and means for displacing the upper edge of the sheet supporting blade toward the sheet receiving and advancing means to present the folded edge of the sheet thereto.

6. A sheet handling apparatus comprising a' driven carrier disk rotatable about a fixed axis, a horizontally disposed sheet supporting member pivotally mounted at one end to one side of the disk, the opposite end of the member being freely disposed to receive a folded sheet thereon in straddling fashion, the pivotal axis of the member being parallel to the axis of the rotation of the carrier disk, the rotation of the carrier disk translating the sheet supporting member in an orbital path, sheet receiving an advancing means adjacent the orbital path in which the sheet suporting member is translated, said sheet receiving and advancing means being adapted to receive a sheet from the sheet supporting member while the latter is angularly displaced from its sheet receiving position, and means for imparting pivotal movement about a horizontal axis to the sheet supporting member as it approaches the sheet receiving and advancing means to present the folded edge of a sheet carried thereby to the sheet receiving and advancing means.

7. A sheet handling apparatus comprising a sheet transporting member having an upper edge for supporting a folded sheet thereon in straddling fashion, a carrier rotatable about a fixed axis for supporting the sheet transporting member at one end and translating it in an orbital path while maintaining the upper edge horizontally disposed, the opposite end of the sheet transporting member being free to receive a folded signature endwise thereon, signature receiving and advancing means adjacent the orbital path for receiving a sheet transported thereto by the sheet transporting member, means opposite the free end of the sheet transporting member forming a cam track which surrounds the axis of rotation of the carrier, and a cam follower carried by the end of the sheet transporting member opposite the free end and controlled by said cam track to impart a predetermined motion to the sheet transporting member to present the folded edge of a sheet carried thereby to the sheet receiving and advancing means.

8. A sheet handling apparatus as set forth in claim 7 in which the cam track is formed by inner and outer rails, said earn track including a portion within which the cam follower reverses its direction and portions guiding the cam follower to and from said portion in which the cam follower reverses its direction, and a pivotal spring urged gate member movable to open position to admit the cam, follower into said portion in which it reverses its direction and automatically closing behind the cam follower to guide it to a different portion of the cam track during its return movement.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,279,270 Tornberg et a1, Apr. 7, 1942 2,684,848 Pearce July 27, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 627,367 Great Britain Aug. 8, 1949 

